


Sick drabble

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Derse Dreamers, Dersecest - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Meteorstuck, One-Sided Attraction, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-15 14:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3450116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Albeit thinking he was immune to all sicknesses, Dave has come down with a bad bout of the common cold. Rose finds him, and for the first time in ever he has someone to take care of him, just because he's sick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sick drabble

**Author's Note:**

> Pffft planerides are way too long and I always get way too bored so enjoy this oneshot ;) I am also sick so it seemed appropriate

“Damn it,” Dave sniffled; sick for the first time since the game started. “Damn it all.” Maybe the others wouldn’t notice that he was sick; he was too antsy to stay in his room all day, although he knew it would probably be the best thing for him.

 _Fat chance_ , he thought to himself as he left his dorm-like room. He hacked and coughed, and hated the feeling.He hadn’t been this sick for a long, long time. He had assumed, falsely, that being GodTier meant he was immune to all sicknesses, but this was obviously a pretty bad cold. It sort of made sense that it was bad though; he hadn’t seen the sun in ages. Vitamin D wasn’t exactly something they had thought about, but he definitely considered alchemizing some, uncool as it sounded.

Dave found himself halfway across the meteor, unbothered, when he was finally interrupted. “Hello, David.” Rose said from behind him. He inwardly groaned to himself as he turned around, not even attempting to fake a smile. “Ugh. Hey Rose.”

“how are-,“ she stared at him for a second, “ are you sick?”

That took about zero time. “…….no,” he mentally hit himself for hesitating, and decided to play it off, “are you sick?” He tried to smile but was cut off by a bout of coughing.

“Yes you are,” she almost looked amused, “I can hear that you’re stuffed up”

“I cannot believe this libel. The only sick thing here are my totally ill beats.”

“My god, Dave, why are you out of bed?” She gave him _that_ stern look, and he rolled his shaded eyes.

“I do what I want.” he sneezed into his elbow, swearing.

“Gross. You’re going back to bed,” she beckoned him with her free arm; the other was wrapped around boring-looking books

Dave complied, sniffling. “Fine… but only cause I’m so fucking tired.”

He fell into step beside her, and they walked peacefully for a while before she spoke up.

“So where you catch a cold from, anyways?” She looked sidelong at him.

“Dunno, probably the pits of hell or somewhere equally terrible.”

She smiled, “Well as amusing as it is, seeing you be anything more than your usual sarcastic, stoic self, you really should try to shake it off. That means lots of sleep, Strider.”

They finally reached his room, and he expected her to be on her way. Instead, she pushed her way into his room, sitting on the side of his bed and examining his turntables. He followed behind her, but instead of laying back in bed he sat at his sketchbook, flipping through recent SB&HJ comics he’d drawn out of boredom.

“Dave. Bed.” She looked at him sternly, “and hand me your phone, too. I know you have it on you.” 

He yawned,and dug his phone out of his pocket. “Whatever, _mom._ ” He handed it to her and flopped onto his bed, letting out distressed sounds.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Yeah, sure, whateves,” He did it to piss her off, and she give him another stern look, “ _Dave_.”

He copied her tone, “ _Rose._ ”

She held her poker-face for a record amount of time, before she cracked up to what he could only assume was the Strider charm, and let out a high chuckle. He let himself smile back. Then the hacking restarted, and he groaned to a newly sore throat.

“I can’t even deal with you.” She smiled prettily, but it faded with his groan. “Alright, how bad is it on a scale from hugs to hospital?”

“Somewhere in the middle.” His voice even more ragged then before.

“Hmmmmm…” She searches through her sylladex for a couple minutes. Eventually he closes his eyes, and its a while before he hears her take something out and say, “Alright, try this.” He sniffs at it suspiciously, and sure enough, it smells rancid.

“ It smells like something you pulled out of Terezi’s asshole.” 

She snickers, “Yeah, I chose it for that purpose. It matches your personality.”

He tuts at her, but gave it a taste nonetheless. “Oh my god, ew. It even _tastes_ like something you’ve pulled out of her asshole.” He gags. “Don’t ask me how I know what it tastes like, either.”

“Hey, no judging from over here,” she laughed, “Except for the fact that you’re acting like a wuss. Take it like a Strider, Strider.”

He downed the rest of it, but not without shivering and making a face.

“There,” she took the bottle from him and chucked it into the trash across the room. “You should feel somewhat better in a while. You’re welcome.”

“Thank you. How long is a while.”

“A couple of hours?”

“Too long.” He hacked again and fell dramatically back onto his bad, arm draped over his eyes. “Wont make it.”

“Right well it could have taken you _days_ you ungrateful swine. You’ll make it don’t be so dramatic.”

“Yeah, yeah. You know best.” He gave her a smirk, which she returned.

“So do you want me to leave? I have no objections in staying either.”

Dave yawned, and inwardly cringed at the idea of her leaving, although he wasn’t exactly sure why. “you can stay… if you wanna i mean. Otherwise ill be bored out of my ass.”

“Sure,” She sat back on the side of his bed. “You really should be sleeping…” She looked like she was expecting something to happen.

In seconds, he knew what she’d been looking for, he felt sleepily heavy, eyes fluttering.

“I might not have a choice,” his head fell to the side. “What _is_ that?”

“Something I alchemized. Sleepiness is a side effect, but quite a strategic one.” She smiled.

“Alright.” he began to doze off, albeit his attempts to keep his eyes open.

Rose sat on the floor, leaned up against his bed as read her book. Occasionally she checked on him, first removing his shades and brushing his hair off his warm forehead. 

Several hours later, he woke up. Immediately, he noticed the lack of shades, and grabbed for them, finding them on his bedside table. He found Rose sitting at the foot of his bed, nose buried in a book.

“Rose? What time is it?” He tried sitting up, but collapsed with the realization that _Damn, my head hurts._

“I don’t know, knight of time.” She glanced up from her book.

He closed his eyes for a minute. “It’s five thirty.”

She smiled. “How do you feel?”

He ran a hand through his hair, but found it already brushed back. “Better… but my head hurts like a bitch.”

“Thats no good, though there’s not much I can do about it; I don’t have any advil. You’ll have to wear it out.”

Dave had done this before; countless times at home in Texas Bro had left him to take care of himself when sick or not feeling good. He put his head in between his knees, and Dave closed his eyes. “It’ll probably wear off soon” He whispered. Hands were on his back and he jumped, until he felt Rose working slow circles into his back. 

“Hopefully.”

It dawned on him how odd this all was, her being there and taking care of him because he was sick, although he wasn’t complaining. In fact he wouldn’t mind if she stayed there forever. “Mmmh… that is literally the best.”

Her hand squeezed at his shoulders, rubbing deep circles into his shoulder blades. “Glad i could be of assistance.”

“You can do that for forever if you want.”

She laughed, and sat behind him to get a better angle. “Well I’ve nothing to do for the next couple hours. Forever might be a bit of a stretch though.”

“Perfect.” 

Dave found himself relaxing his shoulder andback muscles.They were coiled tight, a habit from years of being constantly attacked by his brother. She obviously felt this, and quietly commented on how tense he was.

It was quiet for a few minutes, though not awkwardly so. It was the peaceful kind, and Dave was grateful for it, headache slowly starting to subside. Rose worked up and down his back and working out knots.

“Tell me about your days back at home with your Bro.” She asked quietly.

Dave thought about it. “Well, life was never boring, I’ll tell you that. I never knew when he was going to spring out of from behind a corner, or attack me from the fridge.”

He could tell she was smiling by her tone, “He hid in the fridge?”

“Hahaha yeah, sometimes.” He sighed,” But at least he’d leave me alone when I was sick. I almost enjoyed getting sick…”

“I’ll bet.” She chuckled. “I always enjoyed being sick because my mom would actually cast a glance my way.”

That definitely struck a chord. Dave tried not to think about their upbringings. He knew his bro and Rose’d mom did their best, but...

 It was quiet again for a few minutes before Dave decided to reciprocate, “ Tell me something about your days at home with your mom.”

“Hmmm,” She thought, “Well, once on my birthday she bought all these wizard mannequins to ‘attend’ my party and got me all these wizard themed gifts.

“Huh,” Dave readjusted his head. “So you guys bonded over Wizards then?”

“I guess, though I think she was more into it then I was. I almost miss all the wizard stuff now.”

“Yeah?” He chuckled, “Okay you can’t tell _anybody_ this… but sometimes, I almost miss the smuppets.”

Her laugh chimed close behind him, fingers working low on his back. “I never thought I’d hear you say _that_. I won’t tell anyone though, scout’s honour.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty wild.”

It was the kind of silence that told him she was thinking. She lost focus of massaging him, and finally gave up, hugging him from behind, head rested on the back of his shoulder. Surprisingly, Dave didn’t mind; although he was sure if it were anyone else, he would have complained.

“Do you miss him?”

The question startled him a bit, and he didn’t really have an answer for her. It was something he’d cried about at night when it had first happened; his Bro’s death. If anyone asked him about those nights,he was sure he’d deny it.

“I’m… I’m not really sure. I did at first, but the more I think about the way I grew up, the more it just kind of seems really shitty. I mean, he taught me to use a sword when I was three. After that he was just kind of relentless.”

Rose struggled with an answer, and he was almost sure she was going to give him that old clinical bullshit, so he was genuinely surprised to hear her settle on a simple “I’m sorry, Dave.”

“Do you miss your mom?”

“Yeah. A lot.” She sighed, “I guess a lot of ‘missing her’ comes from having a lot left to say to her.”

“I’m sorry.”It was one of those times he wished he could say more to her, but he left it at that, not sure what else to say.

“It is what it is. How’s your head feeling?” She began massaging his back again, starting at his neck.

“A bit to the right… Its getting better.” It was; he’d never recovered from a headache that fast. He felt her move to the right a bit, massaging just the right place.

“That’s good. I have to say for a shitty upbringing, you turned out well, Dave.”

That was totally unexpected. He blushed, glad he was facing away from her. “…Thanks, you turned out not so bad yourself.”

“Aside from being a total cynical bitch? I guess.” She chuckled.

“Hey, you’re talking to _The_ sarcastic asshole.”

“Only some of the time,” She smiled at him, “and not to me so much.”

“Really?” He smiles back, “I hadn’t noticed.”

 She let out a small laugh,and closed her eyes, relaxing. He rolled his shoulders, almost limp. “I’ve never been this relaxed since… ever.I’ve never had anyone do that for me before.”

“Really?” Rose sounded genuinely surprised, though he couldn’t imagine why; he’d just told her what consisted of his childhood. “Well I’ll do it for as long as you want me to.”

Dave chuckled, “Give me that kind of freedom and I’ll be asleep in minutes.”

“Is being asleep really a problem though?” Rose retorted.

“Not really, but I’d feel bad leaving you without my glowing conscious presence. Has anyone ever given you a massage before?”

She thought about it, “Not since I was little; my mom used to.”

“As they say, scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Alright,” She laughs. 

Rose’s hands linger for a couple seconds before pulling away. He stands up and stretches, purposefully making vaguely sexual noises as his back audibly cracks. “A screamer, I see.” She said, amused.

“Shut up,” He laughs, “Ready?”

“Always, Mr. Strider.”

His hands reach for her shoulders first, and he rubs little circles into them, not exactly sure what he should do. He feels her shiver, then relax into his touch.

Teasingly, she moaned, “Harder!”

Hands dug a little deeper up and down her shoulder blades, he hoped to god he was doing it right. The noises she made were definitely an indicator, though, pleased hums filling the silence.

“That feels really nice.” She said, eyes closed. “...So who have you been seeing lately? Down and to the right a bit.”

He dug harder when he reached the spot, and she gave a pleased hum.

When he didn’t say anything, she asked, “Are you avoiding the question?”

“Hmmm? What question?”

“About who you’ve been seeing. It’s alright if you don’t want to tell me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” By this time he was just teasing her, and he could almost _feel_ her roll her eyes.

“Is it a girl or a boy?”

“Alright, alright,” His hands worked over her back, easing out a knot he’d found there. “Let me preface this by saying… it’s complicated.”

“Wow. Facebook that shit.” She laughed.

“Hell yeah getting all cliche up in this romantic biz. Anyways, its a girl. A troll girl. Its mainly complicated because of the quadrants or whatever.”

“Sooo…. Terezi.” He almost face palmed, not knowing why he thought she wouldn’t be able to guess.

“Well… Yeah.”

“I knew it. Took me all of five seconds.” She laughed.

“Oh hush your face,” He worked his hands back up her back, feeling her shiver when he hit just the right spot. “So we started off in the pale quadrant right-“

“And you wanted redrom.” She cut him off.

“Well, it was mostly her that wanted to move things forward.” His thumbs massaged the back of her neck, and she hummed contently.

“How so?”

“See, it’s easy for her to switch quadrants like that, but I don’t have any goddamn quadrants. I wanted to maintain some of the pale qualities, y’know? Like talking about stuff and cuddling. So now we’re somewhere in between pale and flushed? I think its just weirding her out.”

“Sorry to hear that Dave.”

He sighs, “Nah, it’s cool. I knew it would get weird and complicated eventually. Such are the woes of dating a troll.”

“I think Terezi is trying, Dave. She’s probably trying to find a happy medium between a trollian and human relationship. It’ll work out though, You’re a great guy, and Terezi is a great troll.”

“Thanks,” He’s glad he talked to her about it. His hands are back at her shoulders, working them like putty. “Speaking of relationships…”

“Hmm?” She asked, turning to look at him. “What do you mean.”

“I _mean_ , how’s your troll biz going?”

“Oh, mine and Kanaya’s?”

“Yeah how’s that going?”

“She’s amazing honestly. She’s mostly adapted to a human relationship, although I’ve said to her that I understand if she needs to fill her other quadrants at some point. And she’s been helping me with my, uh, slight alcohol problem.”

“I’m really glad, you deserve someone like that.” He yawned and made more vaguely sexual noises.

“David I swear,” She laughed, then hummed when he massaged her lower back.

“I can’t help it!” He looked at her innocently.

“…Thanks, Dave.”

“No problem…”

It was silent for a couple minutes, and Dave found his eyes unwillingly fluttering closed. He slowly stopped massaging her, instead leaning on her and resting his head on her shoulder.

“Have you and Terezi kissed yet?” She asked smugly from beside him, “You can tell me.”

He scoffed, “Rose, we’ve done more than that.”

Her laugh chimed beside him, and she gave his cheek a light pinch. “My sweet baby brother is all grown up!”

“Hey!” He chuckles and pokes her side. “Have you and Kanaya kissed?

“Pffft, among other things.”

“Gross,” Dave laughed.

“Gross yourself.” She patted his head on her shoulder, and realized he was tired.

“Falling asleep, are we?”

“Mmmhmm.” He yawns. 

Dave realized then that she always made him more relaxed and happy than anyone he knew. He blamed it on his tiredness, because it was especially weird after that had just discussed their respective relationships, but he wanted to just… be with her. And she was his _sister_. Pushing the thought aside, he snuggled into her, arms entwining around her waist. She reached for her book.

“You can fall asleep if you want.” She said softly, “I can almost guarantee you won’t wake up buried in smuppet ass.”

“Mmkay… I better not.” He rested his head on the nape of her neck, too tired to say much else about it. His eyes flutter closed.

He slid out of consciousness, listening to her breath and feeling her heartbeat.

 His consciousness screamed at him, telling him how wrong it was, and he realized there was no one he’d rather be with than the person in his arms.

 


End file.
